Vietnam's imports of oil products trended lower for the second consecutive
year in 2013 amid increased domestic production and continued economic
weakness, an analyst from the Vietnam Petroleum Institute said Friday.

The number of fully-assembled automobiles that were imported in 2012 was
just 27,427, worth USD616.7 million, representing a decrease of 50% in volume
and 40% in value compared to 2011, Vietnam Customs reported.

HCMC – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s new regulation on
quarantine taking effect late last month, according to wood enterprises, is a
new red-tape that poses more difficulties for them.

In the first eight months of this year, Vietnam's goods import from China is
estimated to have increased by over $3 billion from the same period last year,
to touch $15.2 billion, according to the general Department of Vietnam
Customs.

Vietnam recorded a trade deficit of $200 million or less for the second
straight month, after the government devalued the nation's currency in February
by the most since at least 1993 to help reduce the gap.

Although the country's exports have made remarkable progress, the danger of
the ballooning trade deficit is still threatening Vietnam, experts said at a
conference on the trade policy for the stable development of Vietnam held
Tuesday by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Vietnamese government measures that are likely to make it more complicated
to import alcohol, cosmetics, mobile phones and autos do not violate World
Trade Organisation rules and are aimed at stopping a flood of fakes, a senior
official said.

New Vietnamese rules on imports of cosmetics, alcohol, cell phones and other
items amount to non-tariff barriers and may breach the country's international
trade obligations, trade groups, lawyers and diplomats said on Friday.

Vietnamese plant protection authorities have insisted that the owners of
50,000 tonnes of Indian corn and soymeal re-export the cargoes, which were
found to be infested with insects, traders said on Thursday.

Vietnam imported 339.86 tons of gold from 1998 to September this year while
exporting 268.86 tons during the period, central bank governor Nguyen Van Giau
said in a statement Monday, citing customs statistics.

Growth in Vietnam's exports and imports is projected to slow to around 10
percent next year, and the country's trade deficit would edge up to $14.55
billion, a state-run newspaper reported on Thursday.